New Strides in Veterinary Science

Since animals cannot speak, the veterinary doctors have to depend upon the medical history provided by the pet owners. However, in many instances, the history provided by the owner is inaccurate and even misleading. Under such circumstances the veterinarians have to rely on clinical symptoms, which they learn to observe. Moreover a veterinary hospital has to be equipped fully with diagnostic tools and various diagnostic machines like autoanalyser, sonography machine, X ray, MRI etc. These machines help the veterinarians in diagnosing a case accurately. The Veterinary Clinical Complex in the College is fully equipped with sophisticated diagnostic tools and machines. The college authorities have tried to provide the entire gamut of 'state of the art diagnostic facilities', so that the diseased animals get proper treatment. 

What is the curriculum like at College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural University, Khanapara? How much importance is given to practical assignments?

With regard to course curriculum we follow the Veterinary Council of India 2016 regulations. The course structure prepared by Veterinary Council of India is followed throughout the country at the undergraduate level and this is revised after every five years. In our college too, we follow the same. There are a definite set of rules for conducting undergraduate and postgraduate examinations. At the postgraduate level the course curriculum is governed by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) under Broad Subject Matter Area (BSMA). In both the undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes a far greater importance is given to practical assignments. This is because, veterinary and animal husbandry are basically practical oriented subjects. Besides the extensive practical assignments that are part of the undergraduate courses (Bachelor in Veterinary Science (B.V.Sc) and Bachelor in Animal Husbandry) we have a one year Internship programme where students are given training pertaining to treatment (of birds and animals) and the husbandry aspect. They are also trained to handle zoo animals and given preliminary training on wild life. The Internee students are also given an opportunity for entrepreneurial development. We have a provision for undergraduate students called 'Earn while you learn' where students are placed in livestock farms where they work after the class hours. The profits generated from these farms are shared with the students.

Since animals cannot speak veterinary doctors have to be exceptionally skilled in diagnosis. Please share your views on this aspect.

Since animals cannot speak, the veterinary doctors have to depend upon the medical history provided by the pet owners. However, in many instances, the history provided by the owner is inaccurate and even misleading. Under such circumstances the veterinarians have to rely on clinical symptoms, which they learn to observe. Moreover a veterinary hospital has to be equipped fully with diagnostic tools and various diagnostic machines like autoanalyser, sonography machine, X ray, MRI etc. These machines help the veterinarians in diagnosing a case accurately.

The Veterinary Clinical Complex in the College is fully equipped with sophisticated diagnostic tools and machines. The college authorities have tried to provide the entire gamut of 'state of the art diagnostic facilities', so that the diseased animals get proper treatment. We are trying to upgrade our infrastructure at regular intervals. Further, many sophisticated facilities, with state of the art diagnostic setups have come up in the private sector.

What are the upcoming and on-going research initiatives in your college? You could also please share about research, initiatives in the field of veterinary science across the country?

At the national and international level, the research initiatives are largely concentrated around the production of genome edited livestock and poultry (so called designer animals), engineering of rumen microbes for mitigation of greenhouse gas production, bio pharming for production of biopharmaceuticals, production of nanobody as a novel therapeutic approach for infectious and non-infectious diseases and transgenic animals as a model for human diseases and antibiotic resistance mitigation.

The upcoming research initiatives in our college are development of cell culture vaccine for classical swine fever, thermoflask as a vaccine carrier, development of Duck Plague vaccine and development of protocol for treatment of Foot and Mouth disease. Some of the ongoing research in our college includes research on nanotechnology, development of probiotic fortified meat and egg production, development of recombinant protein based vaccine and diagnostic development, identification of newer feed resources, antibody engineering for therapeutic and diagnostic development and research on climate resistant housing and management system.

All of us know that the African Swine Fever (ASF) has crippled the life of pig farmers in the North Eastern Region in general and Assam in particular. ASF is an exotic disease and till now no vaccine has been developed. Taking complete bio security measures is the only way in which we can get rid of this disease. However, in our college research is going on to develop a vaccine against African swine fever.

What have been the latest breakthroughs in veterinary science?

Talking about the latest breakthroughs in the domain of animal husbandry and veterinary science, I would like to state the fact that today India ranks first in milk production in the world surpassing the United States of America. In the research field the breakthroughs have been production of cloned Buffalo Calf, sheep and goat offspring, IndiGau chip for breed recognition, Preg-D for early pregnancy diagnosis in buffalo, development of probiotics, production of Brucella deltas I9 vaccine, Goat Pox vaccine, IBR vaccine and the LSD vaccine.

The College of Veterinary Science, Khanapara has developed one dual purpose bird 'Kamrupa' and a pig variant HD75. Moreover our teachers and scientists are also involved in the development of Test Tube Yak Calf, development of 'Silk Suture' for wound suturing, reverse genetic vaccine and local breed registration i.e. buffalo (luit), cattle (lakhimi), pati duck and desi pig.

Is enough attention being paid to preventive health care in veterinary science? How does the scene in India compare with developed countries?

The veterinary sector in India has always played a major role in preventing and mitigating the diseases in animals. Many of the infectious diseases that have caused havoc in the livestock sector have been totally eradicated from the country i.e. BCPP, Rinderpest etc. Moreover many other similar diseases like anthrax, FMD, classical swine fever, duck plaque, New Castle Disease etc have been controlled. Similarly, diseases of zoonotic importance ie HINI, bird flu, tuberculosis etc have been kept at bay owing to the cooperation between human and animal health workers.

Indian animal health workers have always collaborated with health workers of developed countries. Many diagnostic tools and vaccines have been produced by veterinary scientists from our country. Alumni of this institute are holding very high positions (vice-president) in biopharmaceutics' industries in developed countries.

Last but not the least what are some of the traits qualities that are required to become a good veterinary doctor?

First of all, one must love animals and understand the sufferings of an animal. To be a good veterinarian one must be dedicated and have a good knowledge base about animals and diseases. He/she also needs to be very punctual and disciplined. Since animals cannot speak, a veterinarian needs to understand their language (non-verbal cues etc). All veterinarians need to develop a good rapport with the patient.

The great Mahatma, the Father of the Nation Mohan Das Karam Chand Gandhi had commented "The greatness of a Nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."

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